Brezhnev Doctrine

The Brezhnev Doctrine was a policy promoted by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. It said that the Soviet Union had the right to use military force to maintain the strict rule of the Communist Party in nearby socialist countries. The Brezhnev Doctrine was used to justify the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 after Alexander Dubček introduced political reforms there. The policy was maintained through 1989.